New Mexcio Wildlife Center has shared sad news about Hopper. Courtesy photo
NEW MEXICO WILDLIFE CENTER NEWS
The New Mexico Wildlife Center is sad to share the news of the recent passing of Hopper the Swainson’s Hawk, who had been an Ambassador Animal at NMWC since 2016. Hopper was rescued almost 9 years ago in Carlsbad as a fledgling whose injuries indicated that he had probably been struck by a vehicle. As a result of the collision, Hopper’s right eye was permanently damaged, making him non-releasable. He was given a permanent home at NMWC and spent several years educating the public about Swainson’s Hawks.
In recent years, we had begun to notice behavioral signs in Hopper that made us concerned about an impairment in his one remaining eye. A major habitat upgrade in 2023 was helpful for him, and his caregivers continued to make adjustments to his living space and training routines to adapt to his needs. Of our two Swainson’s Hawk Ambassadors, Hopper was the more reserved one, but those who worked closely with him built relationships with him that helped to build his confidence.
Hopper’s recent medical exams showed that in addition to having compromised vision in his remaining eye, he was also developing signs of arthritis in his left wing. Pain medication for his wing provided some improvement, but his visual impairment was determined to be severe enough, and detrimental enough to his quality of life, that the most compassionate course of action would be humane euthanasia.
We are grateful to Hopper for his years of service as an ambassador for his species at NMWC, and we will all miss him dearly.
To donate to the NMWC go to https://secure.qgiv.com/for/newmexicowildlifecenter/
NMWC is locared at 19 Wheat St., Espanola, NM 87532. Visitation hours are Tuesday-Sunday from 9 AM – 4 pm Animal Encounters are at 11:30 am. Admission price is $7 for adults, $5 for children 4-17 and admission is free for ages 3 & under.
About New Mexico Wildlife Center
NMWC is a non-profit organization, operating through the generosity of private and corporate donors and with the support of foundations and granting entities. NMWC employs a small staff of ten full-time and part-time employees. But we could not do what we do without our corps of 60 or more volunteers who help with everything from cleaning animal cages, to filing, to pulling weeds and more.We invite visitors to explore our website and to come visit us. We would love to tell you more about what we do!